Christmas Special!
by Demo ODST
Summary: Just the Deception cast having some christmas fun! May or may not be cannon! Just enjoy!
1. Christmas Eve

**This may or may not be cannon, just having some fun, hope you all enjoy! and yes, this is set in the deception universe!**

* * *

I took a deep breath before slowly letting it out, the wispy remnants of that breath quickly being wisked away by the freezing wind, trying to listen for any small sound that might reach my ears from our opponent. I could feel the bark of the tree I was leaning against, even through my leather jacket and jeans, my freezing cold 'weapon' loosely dangling in my hand. Snow continued to fall all around us, slowly obliterating any tracks we might have made, and piling the white powder higher and higher. We had forgoed a more defensive posture for an aggressive full on attack, but knowing our opponents, they were likely expecting that. I felt someone bump into my elbow, glancing at my light blue partner, just wearing a T-shirt as his natural winter coat was plenty warm for the current temperatures.

"You ready Marcus?" the blue humanoid vulpine nodded, the same cocky grin his father always had on his face. Oddly enough though, his eyes were a deep dark blue, unlike the green and turquoise of his parents. Although there was no doubting he was theirs. As far as build and color pattern, he was a carbon copy of his father, but had his mother's blue fur color, and could sense people's emotions. He couldn't read minds and send his thoughts to people, like his mother, but it was still pretty spectacular.

"I was born ready Will!" I chuckled at his enthusiastic response as I gave the snowscape another look, searching the trees and buried playground equipment once more.

"Damn right, remember, one of them is probably hiding in the snow, the other behind the trees. You push out first, try to find the one in the trees. I'll use my longer range to tag the one in the snow when they make a move. Ready?" I glanced at him as I finished speaking, seeing him heft both of his chosen weapons, ready to use them. he gave me a subtle nod, and I tapped his shoulder to tell him to move, watching him dart out with lightning speed. He was far faster than I could ever hope to be, even at my peak. He and his father were both like that, just insanely fast, by every meaning of the word. As he rushed to a piece of buried equipment, I sprinted to the next tree over, having to drop into the snow several times to not go above three to five seconds of running. Marcus was doing the same, only he had to say to himself 'I'm up, he see's me, I'm down.' every time he did so, more for a rough timing of the rushes as we slowly worked our way across the park. Suddenly, one of our enemies stepped out from behind a tree, throwing her chosen weapon at Marcus at the absolute limit her small frame would allow. It would have been an absolute perfect shot, had it not been for Marcus's insane reflexes, dodging the round like a scene ripped straight from an old science fiction movie. His return shot was almost simultaneous with the dodge, pegging the sliver and grey vixen dead center of her chest, spattering snow everywhere. His second quickly followed, but she was already ducking back behind the tree, Marcus now totally out of ammo. That's when a section of the landscape suddenly burst open, about halfway between me and Marcus, a blanket being knocked aside to reveal a shallow dug out fighting position, completely stocked with ammunition. Not that the Vulpine feline hybrid got the chance to throw a single one at Marcus, as I had already fastballed my shot square at the back of her head, one hundred percent predicting her plan, and perfectly countering it. My snowball burst into dozens of shards in an absolute spectacular explosion, spraying snow all around her as she froze on the spot, arm half cocked to hurl her own. Her head snapped to the side so she could get one of her sapphire eye's on me, her now snow covered hair whipping through the air like knives. But she was to slow, for I was already hidden behind a new tree, prepping my next shot. Off beyond her, Marcus and his smaller opponent were trading shots, both managing to connect several times, but neither really able to give or take ground. Meanwhile, I peeked out and watched the hybrid continue to scan for me from her little fox hole, one snowball ready to throw at the first sign of my appearance.

"I know you are over there Will! Stop hiding already!" I smirked at her shouted words, that being a que for Marcus. He suddenly changed targets, pelting a snowball straight for the hybrid.

"Mom! Look out!" she reacted to the sound of her adopted daughter's voice, her head whipping away from me to spot the incoming snow ball, giving me the exact opening I wanted, sprinting out from behind my tree and hurling my own. Both mine and Marcus's connected at the same time, Marcus nailing her clean on the top of her short muzzle as mine exploded against the back of her jacket.

"Damn it you two!" she managed to shout that out, moving to throw her snowball at the visible target of Marcus, unable to hear my feet in the soft snowfall, only for my hand to grab her wrist, my other arm snaking around her abdomen and yanking her from the position, letting myself fall back into the snow with her bundled up body on top of mine. she let out a massive shriek the second I had picked her up, giggling as she landed on top of me. She never grew a winter coat, her fur being more like her feline mother's, so she got cold very easily. And had been stealing my jackets since we had met any time it got cold. Even now, she was swathed in one of my hoodies. Which I snaked my hand into the gut pouch on and pulled out a stick with a red piece of tape on it, holding it up for the world to see.

"And we win!" I shouted that at the top of my lungs, the hybrids brown hair not even an inch from my face. I could easily smell her, the mix of a slight amount of sweat from four hours of rigorous snow filled combat, and her natural almost flower like smell more intoxicating than any beverage could ever hope to be. I took a deep whiff of that glorious smell as I staked the small stick in the snow, wrapping both of my arms around her to prevent her from moving.

"Aw, dang it! Dad, why do you have to be so good at this!?" I lifted my head off the snow to look at the tiny Vixen, smiling at her pouted expression. Both her ears were flat on her skull, her tail slim and limp on the ground, not that her tail could even be big and full in the first place. The ten year old girl was tiny for her age, almost four inches shorter than she was supposed to be, making her almost eight inches shorter than the already four foot six Marcus beside her. she had dark silver colored fur, the fur on the underside of her chin and chest being a lighter grey, along side mid back length black hair. She had her arms crossed, the look almost comical in Marcus's overly large borrowed black hoodie. She was too small to not be cold, so Marcus had let her borrow one of his sweatshirts.

Speaking of the blue vulpine, he had moved over beside her, smiling gently to her as he plucked a chunk of snow from her hair. "So next time, I'll be your partner, and I promise we will win!" she perked up at his friendly proposition, neither of them really old enough to realize what it looked like from here. Although, Marcus, being nearly twelve now, might catch it. the duo had practically grown up together, since myself and Mira had adopted little Aiya that is. She had been abused and neglected for the first two years of her life, spending several months in a hospital and foster care before we adopted her. which was why she was so small when she really shouldn't be. She also had a generally weaker immune system as well, having to take vitamins and immuno boosters almost daily, despite having a healthy diet. But Marcus, being the kind person he was shaping out to be, was always patient with her and did everything he could to include her in his activities. And when she was sick, he would spend most of his day's at our house, helping her get better. It also helped that they lived only a street apart, so it's not like he had to travel far.

"Awl, look at those two! I think we have another milkshake!" I couldn't help but burst out laughing at Mira's comment, rolling my eyes at her. ever since making a comparison between relationships and milkshakes almost thirteen years ago, Mira had taken to calling relationships milkshakes, more just to bring up the memories of that conversation than anything else.

"Jeez Mira, you know that's one of our daughter's, right?" the brown and tan hybrid chuckled, clearly absolutely content to stay right where she was. With my open jacket front, I could easily feel her very warm body through my shirt and her hoodie, as well as several cold spots where snow had been stuck to the hoodie. She still had snow stuck to several spots on her muzzle, as well as in her shoulder blade length brown hair. I gently plucked one off her short, relatively wider snout, flicking it away. "And you are covered in snow!" I more felt than heard her slight growl, the one eye of hers I could make out becoming a slit as she playfully glared at me.

"If someone hadn't pegged me in the back head with a snow ball, and if _someone else_ hadn't pegged me in the face!" Marcus shied away at Mira's playfully hateful gaze, shriveling up with his ears pressed flat and tail tucked completely between his legs. He may have been an empath, but Mira and I had a lot of experience with telepaths, and learned how to show false emotions outwardly, more for the fun of picking on them. "I wouldn't have this problem, now would i?" I rolled my eyes at her as she shifted her glare at me to the best of her abilities. Of course, that meant looking straight up until her nose was literally brushing mine, her ears pressed flat on my chest, all attempts of looking angry lost with one look at her current position. So I just chuckled and gave her a short and gentle kiss on the end of her snout. Her shoulders slumped at that, shaking her head at me, and brushing her cold wet nose against mine several times.

"Mom, Dad, do you always have to be like this?!" I smiled to the small girl as she shouted that. Aiya looked beyond embarrassed. But I also noticed the fact that she was shivering uncontrollably. Given the worried expression on Marcus's face, both of his ears flat, he had noticed it too.

"As a matter of fact, we do! Now lets get our as-" my voice cut off as Mira violently elbowed my ribs. She constantly had to stop me from using my more 'colorful' infantry vernacular around Aiya. "Buts, inside. Before Fox throws a temper tantrum over us being late for dinner!" Mira chuckled at my words, more than likely at the small jab directed toward Fox, bouncing on my chest. Aiya also looked very relieved, more than happy to head inside. She loved to try and act tougher than her body would allow, but even so, she still knew her limits. She and Marcus instantly started heading for Fox's house, leaving myself and Mira behind, still lying in the snow of the park.

"You know, Fox and Krys are doing an incredible job of raising Marcus. I'd say he's kinder than the both of them combined."

I smirked, one of my hands snaking under her shirt to rub the soft fur of her belly as she spoke. the slight purr of pleasure she let out was beyond adorable. "So you noticed his reaction too huh?" she nodded as I spoke, myself feeling her starting to shiver a little herself. "Anyway, we should probably follow them. before the one of us with fur freezes to death." Mira's shoulders slumped as she tried to glare up at me again, only to earn herself a kiss planted firmly against the end of her snout, making that glare disappear in an instant.

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, Mother Hen Fox really will get pissed if we miss dinner!" we both laughed as she sat up and stood, myself following suit as she retrieved the blanket she had been using from the snow, our hands acting almost like magnets as we began our own trek back, hands tightly interlocked.

* * *

Fox glanced up from his cutting board when he heard the door open, seeing a shivering Aiya followed closely by Marcus, both covered in snow. Aiya was clinging to Marcus as though her life depended on it, although that was not actually inaccurate. Due to the abuse and neglect she had in her early years of life, her body was weak, unable to metabolize food as well as it should and as a consequence, her body had trouble keeping her temperature up, or raising it for that matter. So her trying to bury herself in Marcus's downy winter coat was not a show of affection, but just her seeking warmth. It was also perfectly normal to see the pair show up like this, down to even Aiya wearing his hoodie, despite having her own beneath it.

"Hey you two! Dinner should be ready in an hour or so, have fun out there?!" Marcus was instantly nodding, a grin plastered to his face. Whether or not Aiya was grinning or not, Fox couldn't tell, given she had buried her face in Marcus's neck fur as soon as they came in "Where's Will and Mira?" Marcus just grunted as he guided Aiya over near the fireplace in the house's living room. The small girl finally let go of him, pulling the wet sweatshirts off as he grabbed an old tan blanket from the couch, wrapping the blanket over the both of them as they sat near the fire. This was also a pretty normal sight in the winter, although it was typically one of the adults who would help her warm up. Marcus had only really started helping out in that regard last winter.

"M-o-om a-nd dad-d ar-re c-com-ming. Th-they were b-being weird in the s-snow." Just a few seconds under the blanket and near the fire was helping the poor girl immensely, although she was likely not leaving the blanket until morning. Fox rolled his eyes, knowing Mira and Will were probably just being their regular playful selves. Somehow, despite everything that had happened, and raising a child, and a teenager if they counted Kayla, they had remained the same playful couple over the past fourteen years, never once wavering in that regard. Fox was suddenly shaken from his thoughts as he felt arms snake around his bare torso, not even having to glance down to know it was Krystal's. Being a Vulpine, his winter coat made it unbearably warm in the house, or at least, in the sixty degrees that both Mira and Will complained about being a little chilly. So, he usually ran around the house shirtless, more to avoid sweating by the bucket load than anything else. Krystal's coat wasn't as thick as his, so she could comfortably wear normal clothing, but that was only because of the generally milder winter's her home world of Cerinia had.

"You're so warm Fox!" he heard her muffled voice as she pressed herself against his back, her muzzle buried against the back of his neck.

"Come on Krys, you're making it hard to finish dinner!" not that dinner was all that hard to finish at this point. Wait for some cookies and such to finish baking, occasionally stir some veggies and gravy. Nothing to it at this point. Fox didn't get a verbal answer to his statement, the deep blue and white vixen just squeezing him a little harder and purring at him. he rolled his eyes, batting the interior of her thighs with his tail, which she had staggered herself over top of.

Fox and Krystal's house was actually very simply designed, the front door opening into large open area, split between a sitting area and entertainment area on ones right, the entertainment area toward the back of the house, and a dining and kitchen area, with the dining room at the front of the house with a large bay window out to the street. The kitchen had a large breakfast island and sink, the stove, fridge and all the other cooking accessories Fox could ever want being arrayed against the wall. At the back corner was a door leading into a walk in pantry, the pantry actually housed behind the stove and it's countertop array. The other side of the main hall, as Fox liked to call the main hall of the house, was split between the entertainment and sitting areas by a hallway which led to a guest bathroom and the bedrooms, a door at the end of the hall leading to the houses basement. the fire that Aiya and Marcus were still sitting at was on the side wall in the sitting area, an identical bay window to the one on the otherside of the door dominating the front section of the wall there. Normally the area had a coffee table and chairs, arrayed around the fire place, but once a year, the table was removed and the chairs were re-arrayed around a Christmas tree, set up in the window. An actual, small, pine tree, not a fake constructible one. And it already had a fair number of presents resting beneath it's branches, ready to be opened tomorrow morning.

Although Christmas was technically a human holiday, and was celebrated nearly three months from now, in Corneria's spring time, they celebrated it here in the dead of winter. Fox had actually never even heard of Christmas until one of Will's old military buddies asked if he could use Fox's house for a Christmas gathering. The single father at the time only having a tiny military issued hotel room for him and his son as he supported US forces still fighting on Katina. It had ended up a huge event, and nearly a disaster, but Fox had loved the idea. So, having learned that Will was used to celebrating it in the winter, they had created their own Christmas tradition. And had celebrated it every year since. Although, with Wolf's seemingly ever growing family, things were getting crowded in his old house, and given Wolf and Sheila actually lived on Mecbeth most of the time, Fox and Krystal had decided to sell their original home for this larger one, which used to have enough room for all of Wolf's family. Although, Fox didn't actually know if they were coming this year. Heck, this year was looking to be the quietest yet, Slippy having taken his family out on a long distance system survey, Falco not having shown up since leaving the Star Fox team, almost nine years ago now. Peppy occasionally dropped by, but he was getting older, and liked to stay in as much as he could. Bill and Fay had more kids than Wolf, and Fay was currently in the hospital as of this morning, with another pair of twins on the way. Not only that, but they lived on Katina, and unlike Wolf and Co, they didn't have a starship. So his family wasn't going to be here. Will had friends who would occasionally come, but this year, it was just the two small families, not even Will's first adoptee, Kayla, being able to make it this year. Although, Fox really liked that idea, the last few Christmas's being down right hectic. It was actually relaxing to know that the only kids here were the definite quietest of the bunch, that being Aiya and Marcus. Wolf's older kids were the loud mouths. Of course, thinking of who their parents were, he really wasn't surprised at all by that particular fact.

Fox suddenly heard a knock at the door, raising an eyebrow at that. Will and Mira never knocked, as far as Fox having made spare keys for all of their family, so it was definitely not the two of them arriving. _Don't worry, I got it!_ Krystal's voice seemed to echo in his head, Fox getting the distinct feeling she already knew exactly who was at the door. And the way the blue vixen practically pranced over there, there was no doubt in Fox's mind that she knew who it was. Krystal had changed a little over the past few years, no longer having the incredibly toned body she once had, but that was only because they didn't have labor intensive jobs anymore. Even with a tad bit more weight, she was still absolutely gorgeous to Fox. She kept her hair at about shoulder length still, it getting in her way if she let it get any longer, like Mira and Aiya's hair. How Mira designed and prototyped speeder parts with her hair as long as it was, Fox didn't know.

Krystal didn't even hesitate when opening the door, a near explosion of noise entering the house as soon as she did. Fox's brain nearly froze as several canine and lupine like kits rushed into the house, one screaming Marcus's and Aiya's names at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, one of those kits parents was screaming at the top of her lungs as well as she greeted Krystal, Fox almost having to cover his ears from the noise. The person greeting his wife was none other than Sheila Spitz, the mother of all of Wolf O'Donnel's children, despite the fact that the pair had yet to be officially married, and currently had a very loud two year old kit in her arms. She was an absolutely stunning cinnamon brown and white canine with icy blue eyes, and a good inch or two taller than Fox, Fox always wondering who between her and Will was actually taller. Her hair seemed like a literal explosion of sandy brown locks, long enough to reach down past her tail. And her personality seemed to match her hair, a literal explosion of energy. Even when she was being quiet, any room she entered became at least three times louder. Something all of her kids seemed to have inherited. And multiplied. By a factor somewhere in the hundreds. Maybe thousands. He watched as their eldest, Nathan, made a beeline for Aiya and Marcus, hugging both of them at the same time. Even though he was actually a premature birth, and still a month younger than Marcus, he swamped the two of them, already having broken five feet in height. He had the same wild and rugged look as Wolf, but his fur had a slight coppery tint to it, unlike Wolf's straight black and grey. He also had about mid-blue eyes, not really dark, but not really light blue either. But the trio were definitely tight friends, and probably always would be.

"Hey, Nathan! Be gentle! You can't just throw yourself at a girl like that! Especially not one half your size!" Fox barely managed to catch that shout from a voice he easily recognized as their second oldest, Flannery. She had a nearly identical build to her older brother, merely feminine, and with a lot more of a coppery tone to her fur. She seemed to also have an explosion of hair, just like her mother, but it was lessened by the fact that her hair didn't even break half of her mother's length. She and Aiya were almost identical in age as well, and despite the almost explosive differences in their personality's, Flannery's in your face hyper activity and outgoingness compared to Aiya's silent almost anti-social behavior, they were incredibly close friends. As soon as she reached the other three, Flannery pulled Aiya's tiny form out from under the blanket and away from the two now wrestling boys, already talking so fast with her that Fox doubted even a super computer could have kept up. As odd as it sounded, he had more trouble tracking the last two members of the O'Donnel pack than an overpowered Dominance-class fighter in an asteroid field, the two six-year old's blazing around the room with a toy Wolfen and a toy Arwing. Both looked almost identical to Wolf, only they both had shocks of white hair on top of their heads, and had mismatched eyes. The only way Fox could ever tell the pair apart was that Kurt was slightly taller than Kasey, and his right eye was grey, his left sky blue. Kasey's eyes were the reverse, his right being blue, the left being grey.

Fox finally thought the room had reached a relative calm again, or more like it had just adjusted to the explosion of activity more like, when he heard a massive meaty thud, his eye's snapping back to the doorway as a massive grey and black furred form was slammed into the ground just inside the door, Will in his leather jacket tumbling over it. The thud had enough force to rattle the whole house, Fox swearing he heard a glass fall over in the cupboard and shatter. Wolf and Will were immediately back to their feet, trading rapid jabs and punches, both of them grinning like idiots.

"For the love of everything fluffy, why the fuck has my house become a three match combat tournament!?" Fox could not stop his shout, having noticed that the twins had now started wrestling over which toy they had, Wolf and Chris immediately stopping.

"Shesh Fox, language! Aiya and the kids are here you know!" despite Mira's quiet voice, it still clearly carried across the entire room, the hybrid near silently slipping through the still open door and closing it behind her. "And boys! If you all really want to punch each other, go down to the basement where we have mats and gloves!" she pointily glared at Will, Wolf, Nathan, and Marcus, all of them all cringing, Fox catching Aiya go wide eyed and start slinking toward the nearest piece of solid object, even with not being the target of the glare. And he didn't blame a single one of them. Fox definitely never wanted to be on the business end of any weapon, be it belt, blaster, or beer bottle, that Mira was wielding while angry. He'd seen, and been on, the receiving end of the results, several times. Somehow, she was the control on everyone in the group. "And Sheila, you might want to stop those two." Sheila sighed as she realized what Mira was pointing at, yet to have noticed the squabbling twins.

"Welp, there goes my hopes for a nice quiet Christmas. Again." Fox couldn't help but mutter that to himself as he stirred the food again, a sigh slipping out of his mouth. He was still grinning though, happy to have such a massive family. Even though most of them were completely unrelated to each other, there was absolutely no doubt that they were a family. And always would be.

"Damn it Will, I still gotta get you back for last time!" Fox's ears perked up at the sound of Wolf mild cussing, his eyes flicking up to the burly Lupine. The near six and a half foot canine towered over everybody, and he was built like a freight train. His grey fur never looked neat and tidy, despite several attempts made by Sheila, one apparently involving three entire bottles of human hair gel. He had one grey eye, the other being a cybernetic replacement, hidden beneath a glass plate.

"Pish, you've _never_ been able to be beat me Wolf, be it _Halo_ , Starless void, or a fucking fist fight, I beat ya everytime!" Will had instantly retorted back to Wolf, both of them leaning away from each other, arms crossed in absolutely identical positions. Will was the only human in Fox's 'family', being the first and so far only human to serve with the Star Fox team. A former infantry lieutenant and Airborne Ranger, he had a habit of keeping himself in incredible shape. But he wasn't massive or ripped, toned, yes, but aside from that, he simply looked average. He kept his brown hair much longer than he used to, his steel grey eyes almost always seeming ready to laugh, particularly at a terrible joke. There was a set of three scars on his cheek, claw marks, that he had received over a decade ago, along with dozens of shrapnel scars. But all were over a decade old by now, and had begun to fade away. he was now a cop with the CPD, and a member of their Tactical Response Team.

"What did I just say about language!?" Both Wolf and Will looked like they had both been physically slapped by Mira's angry words, causing Fox to roll his eye's at them. both gave Mira identical guilty puppy looks, neither one brave enough to challenge Mira. And for good reason. It would likely be good to note that Mira had been the reason the first Christmas Fox had ever seen had gone sour, but that was a story for another time, Fox merely hoping her ire wouldn't be turned on him. Mira was likely one of the kindest people Fox had ever met, generally quiet unless she was among friends, but always trying to help people. It was likely because of that, that she was so utterly terrifying when angered. That, and she had been known to smack people who pissed her off enough. And shoot them, on at least one occasion. Thankfully, Will had been wearing shielded powered armor at the time. She was the shortest of all of the adults, sitting about five inches shorter than Fox himself, and the only Hybrid in the group. She had short brown and tan feline fur, a thick busy vulpine tail, vulpine ears, and a short, squat vulpine snout, making her look somewhat awkward in a way. But she was still a beautiful woman, not as fit as Krystal had been or Sheila still was, but not overweight by any means. She had full, brown hair that reached to the bottom of her shoulder blades, and deep sapphire blue eyes unlike anything Fox had ever seen in his lifetime.

"Hey guys! It's time to eat!" Fox shouted that as he pulled the tray of baked goods out of the oven, quickly using a spatula to pull them off a tray and set them on a towel. As he was doing that, Wolf had started pulling out the leaves of the wooden dining table so they could expand it, Sheila grabbing the spare chairs from the wall and placing them around the table while Marcus and Aiya started setting out plates and silverware. Of course, they only had enough room for ten plates on the table, even extended. Above that, they only had nine chairs, but the group was used to this by now. The two year old, Adrian, didn't really need a chair, and Sheila was too smart to let the kit loose on the world, so he was likely going to be on her lap. Marcus, Aiya, and Nathan were pretty well guaranteed to sit together, although when Kayla was around, Nathan usually went and joined his other siblings around the coffee table in the entertainment area. Mira and Will were busying themselves with moving all of the food to the center of the table, from ham, to several different casseroles, candied yams, and because Fox had felt like it, a whole stack of steaks, all cooked to an absolute perfect medium-rare. There almost wasn't enough room on the table for all of the food. Knowing Wolf's family though, and Will for that matter, most of that food was probably going to disappear very quickly. As soon as all of the food had been loaded on the table, and they had finally managed to get the kids calm, they all slipped into seats, four on each side of the square table, one on the end. Aiya had claimed the end seat, Will and Mira on one side of her, Marcus and Nathan on the other. Sheila and wolf had taken the seats beside Mira, leaving Fox beside Nathan and his own wife, and right in front of his stack of Steaks. Before anyone even started plating food, Will took both Aiya and Mira's hands, starting a chain that went all the way around the table, the other kids holding Wolf's hand to make a chain between Wolf and Krystal, just before all of them, save Adrian who had to keep being restrained by Sheila, bowed their heads and closed their eyes.

"Lord, we thank you for all of this amazing food Fox prepared for us this evening, and for having yet another year with each other. We only ask that as we part ways once more, that you watch over and guide each of us, as well as those who couldn't be with us here today. Amen." Fox opened his eyes immediately after Will had said Amen, releasing Nathan's hand, but not Krystals. Mira and Aiya had both repeated the last word Will had spoken, both of them believing the same as he did, that there was such thing as a god. Fox had always disagreed with Will on that, but he also deeply respected Will, and his beliefs. So it had become a tradition amongst them to let Will pray with them every single Christmas eve dinner. And although he could never understand why Will, Mira, and Aiya believed as they did, he had seen how much calmer of a person simply praying before meals had made him. Mira had actually suggested to Will to start praying again, despite the fact that she didn't believe in religion at the time. But if you talked to her now, she would admit that she started believing in it shortly after that. Aiya, as much as one might think Will shoved his beliefs on her, had actually just seen Will reading out of his bible, reading it more to sate her own curiosity. Afterwards, the two had talked about it for what seemed like weeks before she admitted to the group at large that she too believed there was a god. In the end, Fox didn't much care, but even he had to admit, he loved the tradition it had created for them. It always made him look back on the last year they had gone through, as well as those who couldn't be there, adding a nice touch of happy reminiscence to the meal. "Hey Fox, ya gonna start handin out them steaks ya got there, or what!?" Fox startled as Will shouted at him from the opposite corner of the table, rolling his eyes at Will before he started loading passed plates with the food in front of him.


	2. Christmas Day

**And Part Two! enjoy folks!**

* * *

Mira smiled as she picked up the last of the random trash around the room, unable to not smile at the moment. The only thing keeping her tail in check, was the need to not have it whacking everything in sight. Marcus and Will were busy rinsing all of the dishes, having already put away the left overs. Sheila and Wolf had put their family to bed in the spare rooms downstairs, before disappearing into the guest bedroom beside Marcus's. the pair had gotten into a massive argument during dinner over sports teams, which had become a total shouting match. Fox ended up breaking it up, but it still left Mira slightly concerned about the pair. But, given the fact that they still went to bed together, that concern was lessened. The pair had arguments and shouting matches all the time, as Nathan had told Aiya and Marcus repeatedly. So how ever it was their relationship was working, seemed to be still going strong. Krystal had always said their spirits were simply compatible opposites, much like a human yin and yang concept. That went over her head, the only one really able to make heads of tails of it likely being Krystal. Of course, Krystal and Fox had also gone to bed already, Fox having a bad bout with his leg, Krystal helping him to his bed room. None of the O'Donnell's were awake, mostly because they lived in a different time zone, so it was close to midnight for them, even though it was barely eight at night. Mira sighed as she realized that Aiya was asleep on the couch, burrowed inside of Will's old blanket, the soft brown blanket having been his since before Mira met him. she smiled at the sight, but she also couldn't help but sigh sadly as well. Aiya usually had a tough time staying awake on days where she was really active. Most school days, she barely even made it past seven. She had been barely even awake for the past hour of festivities, and probably wasn't going to remember the events of tonight at all.

"I'll go get her bed." Mira nearly jumped at Marcus's voice, glancing at the boy to see that he was already on his way to his room. He kept a spare folding bed for her in his closet, really just a very comfortable cot, specifically so she had a place to take a nap if she ever needed one. Although the pair had been found several times asleep together on one or the other's bed, the couch, and various other places. the funniest Mira had found, and still had a picture of, they had decided to read a novel together, only for the pair to fall asleep, still leaning up against the back of the bed, Aiya's head on his shoulder, his head on Aiya's, the open book still in her hands. _These two are really going to make a cute couple someday. I just know it!_ she smiled as that thought cross her mind, hearing the water shut off in the kitchen. Will walked over to her, smirking as he saw Aiya. Neither got the chance to say a word as Marcus arrived, quickly setting the cot up behind the couch. Will gently lifted Aiya up, and set her on the cot, keeping her tucked into the blanket the whole, time, despite the fact that Aiya had a blanket and was currently stealing Will and Mira's. but Mira didn't see will complaining, and was definitely not going to herself. "Well, I think I'm off to bed too. night Will, night Mira." Marcus yawned before he spoke, quickly disappearing down the hall toward his own room.

"I'll be right back, gotta use the restroom." Mira nodded to Will as he spoke, letting her eye's fall back down to Aiya. She had curled herself back up on her side, still almost totally swathed in the blanket. A smile was still plastered onto her snout as she quietly slept, completely oblivious to the world. Mira crouched beside the cot and gently brushed Aiya's hair away from her eyes, the motion making the smile spread out a little more. It was amazing how much the girl had changed over the past seven years, from unable to sleep soundly without being cuddled up to one of them, and barely talking to anyone, even though she knew language very well. Marcus was actually the first person she really started talking to, around the age of four. She and Marcus had been almost inseparable since. Of course, until a few years ago, she was more often than not, sick, so they spent a lot of their time indoors. Now, they spent it exploring the neighborhood as much as they could, on the days she was feeling better. Even so, there had been several days that a panic stricken Marcus had come barreling through their front door, carrying an unconscious Aiya in his arms, the girl having collapsed because she wouldn't tell people when she wasn't feeling well. But even that was slowly becoming less of an occurrence as her body finally started to grow stronger. It was at the point now that not only was Mira comfortable with the idea of adopting another child, she was actually starting to want one. Her only real wish being that she could actually _have_ a child with Will, not just adopting one. Although most of the Lylattian races could mate and have children with each other, the child generally ending up being the race of the parent with a matching gender, hybirds like Mira being an exception to that rule. Human DNA was too different from Lylattian, so it was something that was completely impossible for them to ever do. She was startled from her thought's as Will's arm settled on her shoulder, Mira instantly leaning into him. "I can't believe it's already been seven years. Time has really flown by, hasn't it?" Will's voice was quiet and soft for a change, something he never displayed to anyone but Mira, as far as she knew at least.

"Yeah. it really has." She closed her eyes as she said that, letting her head rest on his shoulder, unable to not smile. Her family was far from what she imagined it would be as a kid, but in all honesty, she liked the version life gave her so much better.

"Do you ever really want to have another kid? Like, I know we physically can't, I mean actually go look to adopt a child, as close to newborn as possible, not just stumble across a kid in need?" Mira was startled by his sudden soft spoken question, leaning away from Will. As if his tone wasn't enough, the way he was seriously staring right into her eyes told her he was dead serious about what he was saying.

"I….. would you believe me that I was just thinking of how badly I would love to have a child with you? I just….. it would be nice to not have to adopt you know?" Will smiled at her words, pulling her to her feet and into a hug.

"Yeah, I believe you, and it would be nice to not have to adopt but, life doesn't like to give us all we want. Just gotta take the hand you're dealt and make something of it." he gave the top of her head a gentle kiss just before continuing. "And I'll be the first to admit, I wouldn't call my hand as perfect. But I love what I do have, and I intend to keep it."

"Agreed. Guess we have to start looking at social services huh?" she chuckled as she spoke, Will joining her in quietly laughing.

"Yeah, but there's something else we gotta do first. I know of a shower that is currently not in use. You said you want to actually have a kid, so why don't we go and try to break science?" Mira gagged at his terrible attempt of a joke, just trying to not burst out laughing and wake Aiya. She intentionally stepped back enough to see his sly smirk, rolling her eye's at him.

"Will, did Krystal go and teach you to be a telepath when I wasn't looking?" Mira tried to suppress a laugh after she finished speaking, seeing the absolutely bewildered expression on his face. He shook his head no, clearly about to ask her something when she cut him off with a kiss, speaking as soon as she backed off. "Cause that's the second time tonight that you read my mind. And before we go, one thing." He raised an eyebrow at her, patiently waiting for whatever it was she was about to say. "'Try and break science?' that is freaking terrible Will! I _love_ it!"

"I love you too Mira." He was just chuckling at her as he started to lead her toward the guest bathroom, Mira almost stopping him to respond once more.

"I love you too Will."

* * *

Fox sat on the edge of his bed massaging his pulsating leg, somewhat curious as to why the guest shower had been running for so long. he imagined Mira had wanted to take a shower, having learned over the years that she liked to shower before bed, Will preferring to shower in the mornings. Then again, it was entirely possible the shower had been running for so long because the pair were both in it. Now that the thought had crossed his mind, he couldn't shake the image of two of his best friends enjoying their private shower. _You may be right, but you are still a perv, Fox._ He audibly yelped as he heard Krystal's voice echoing in his head, instantly staring at the blue vixen. She was stark naked on their bed, laughing hard enough at his reaction that she had fallen over, showing off every single delectable curve her body had to offer. Needless to say, Fox was very happy to currently be wearing an equal amount of clothing, rolling his eye's at his wife.

"Now you kinda got me curious as to what they are up too. kinda, key word there." Krystal managed to calm her laughing fit down as Fox spoke to her, sitting back up and returning to the cross legged position she had been in, gently running her fingers through his tail, creating an utterly pleasurable experience that put him on the verge of creating quite the mess, especially as she began doing it to his back too.

"Well, currently, Mira's back is against the wall as Wi….." He physically reached over and clamped her snout shut to stop her, having no desire to actually know what his friends were doing right now.

"Krystal. That was a rhetorical question." He closed his eyes as he spoke, opening them when he felt Krystal's muzzle shift slightly within his soft grip. Krystal had managed to slip her tongue out from the end of her muzzle, closing her eye's as she canted her head to the side. Fox sighed as he finally released her, shaking his head at her. no force in the world could have stopped the smile on his muzzle, the only thing preventing his tail from moving being the vixen currently latched onto it. "I really _don't_ want to know about my friend's sex lives. Although, _someone_ here seems to be quite interested in it."

"It's not my fault my telepathy is too strong to fully control! And why don't you go talk to them about having such strong aura's! it's nigh impossible to ignore the four of them, especially when they are all going at it!" Krystal had spent months with some of the older surviving Cerinians, trying to learn more about and strengthen her own telepathy, primarily to help Will. And she had learned more than she could ever even begin to describe to Fox, and was able to do more with her telepathy than even Fox thought possible. But she had grown too powerful to fully control it anymore, as she used to be able to do. Now, she listened in on other people's minds without meaning to all the time. Fox couldn't stop the fur of his cheeks popping up as he realized the full meaning of her words. That it wasn't just Mira and Will having their fun tonight. As he realized that, he became distinctly aware of the soft moans coming from the opposite direction of the shower. Although, if he could hear them through three walls and over the shower running, he felt sorry for Marcus, whose head was probably just a couple feet from theirs, wall or no wall. "I mean, it would probably be easier if I had some sort of…. _distraction_?" Fox tried to suppress his grin at her very thinly veiled request, just barely tilting the corners of his muzzle up.

"Oh, how bout this?" he snaked his hand over to the base of her tail, gently scratching at the fur. She was almost instantly moaning with pleasure, literally falling back on top of his hand, eye's sealed shut.

"Mmmhmm No not quite cutting it Fox!" she seemed to barely be able to get that out, Fox no longer able to suppress his smile.

"Okay, how about…." He quickly slipped up onto the bed, pressing his body down across her's as he gently kissed the tip of her snout, repeating the motion down the side of her snout all the way to the soft fur of her neck, very gently biting her loose skin with his front teeth. By the sound of her moaning, he definitely had her on the ropes, and they hadn't even really started yet. "….. That? Doing the trick yet?" He stopped what he was doing for barely more than a moment so he could whisper that into her ear.

"Not even close yet!" he could easily hear just how much harder that phrase had been for her to actually say, already knowing exactly what he was going to do next.

* * *

Wolf groaned with pleasure as he flopped onto the guest bed, his entire groin region covered in bodily fluids. Of course, the same could probably be said about his whole body, being covered in sweat. He let his eye's close, simply enjoying the slightly cool air that was in the room, which was considerably warmer since they had started.

"Mmmmm, make up sex is definitely the best." Sheila's sweet voice seemed to ring across the dark room, making a smile almost instantly appear on Wolf's face.

He let out a contented sigh, still not willing to open his eyes. "I can agree with you on that, that's for sure."

"Wolf, why haven't we been married yet?" That question, on the other hand, made Wolf's eye's slide open, looking over at the dark shape that he knew was her. she was lying on her chest, her arms crossed on her pillow, head on her arms. Both of her lower legs were slowly kicking back and forth, almost like she was lazily trying to swim.

Wolf froze, completely unsure as to what exactly to say. In almost fifteen years together, it was something neither of them had ever brought up. Wolf, in all honesty, never wanted it brought up. It wasn't that he didn't love her. he did, whole heartedly. As stupid as it might sound, he didn't want to get married, because he had been intending to marry Fara, just before she disappeared, and was subsequently killed. "I…. Ummm….. I don't want to marry you….." he didn't get a chance to explain, able to simply feel her furious glare at his words. He cringed, trying to mentally prepare himself for the onslaught he had just unleashed.

"What!? Why not!? You do love me, right?! You haven't been staying with me for this long because of your kids, have you?!" although she kept her voice quiet, he could tell she was absolutely furious.

 _I gotta think of a way to calm her down…. I just… how do I explain this to her?_ he took a deep breath, trying to focus himself. He had never said a word to her about Fara. She likely knew some details, from Mira or Krystal, but never from him. "Sheila…. You….. you are the second person I have ever loved." Something about his quiet whisper, the barely contained pain in his voice, seemed to calm her. he didn't know how he knew that, just that it was so. "And I had been planning to marry her…. or, more accurately, I had decided to propose to her….. the night she was kidnapped. A few weeks later, we found her dead….. I…. I _never_ want that to happen to you….. I know that sounds stupid but, I feel like if I go for that again…. Something is going to happen to you because of it…" he bit his upper lip, staring at her dark form as he waited for her response, just hoping she understood.

"Wolf." He gulped as she spoke. she still sounded very angry. "You are the biggest fucking moron I have ever met! That is the only reason you haven't married me?!" She laughed after she spoke, shaking the entire bed.

"Well, uh yeah, that is the only reason! I'm just scared okay!?" he winced again as his words only seemed to make her laugh harder.

"Wolf, you are an amazing guy. Smart, aggressive in all the right ways, just…. _Stunning_." He knew she was talking about his body right there. "But you are a straight up paranoid moron. Just man up and propose already or I will!" She sounded beyond happy, and completely amused, almost ceaselessly chuckling.

"A-Alright, Fine! we are getting married, okay!?" Wolf was starting to panic, Sheila just laughing even more.

"But aren't you forgetting something, stupid?" he hated the amount of sass in her voice right there, part of him wanting to scream at her. but that was part of why he loved her. _No one_ could get under his skin like she could. He quickly scrabbled to the edge of the bed, yanking a shoe lace from his boot before grabbing a pocket knife from his drawer.

"Alright fine, you want this to be more or less correct, sit up, please!?" she did exactly as he said, simply smiling at him. "Sheila, would you please marry me?"

"Of course, as soon as you give me a ring, stupid? And why do you have a shoelace?" she stuck her tongue out at him, closing her eyes and giving him the exact opportunity he wanted. Before she could react, he had slipped the shoelace around her ring finger and tied it into a loose knot, deftly using the knife to cut the excess away.

"There's your ring, will you just shut up and marry me now so we can go back to being us?" she stared at the roughly cut, loosely tied section of shoelace after he spoke, one ear canting to the side as her eyebrow rose.

"This is your idea of a ring?" he growled to himself, her obvious enjoyment of the matter only increasing. But before she could say more, he grabbed her and pinned her to the bed beneath him, gently kissing the end of her snout.

"And, do you have a problem with my ring?" he could see her half lidded glare at his words, and watched as her eye's rolled.

"Nope, not at all. But, you have two punishments for such a terrible ring!" she stuck her tongue out at him again for a second, bouncing her head up off the bed and licking the interior of his ear. Her extra slimy tongue coated his ear with saliva, making him cringe. "That's number one!, number two, you have to change ALL of our next babies diapers." His cringe only increased. " And number three, you still have a lot of work to do tonight!" that last one made him grin, lowering his muzzle to hers, kissing her once more as he slid a hand under her, sliding his hand through her mass of hair, down her back and straight to her rear, instantly grabbing it. "Mmmmmm, and before I forget, you got about seven months before you gotta change those diapers."

He almost mistoke her whisper in his ear, pushing himself up off of her again. "I…. I mean…. You're….. we….." he was stumbling over every sentence his brain was trying to say.

"Yup, number six! Now, don't you have work to do?" she giggled at him as she spoke, Wolf just smiling again and lowering himself down to her.

* * *

Aiya could swear she felt someone gently shake her, but she had absolutely no desire to move. She was exhausted after all, and it was winter break. She had no need to get up. Quite honestly, she was tired enough that she had no idea why she was tired. All she really knew for certain was that she was comfortable, warm, and very much so irritated that someone was trying to wake her up.

"Aiya! Come on, it's Christmas morning!" she heard Marcus's voice, cracking an eye open only to see her own hair. She grumbled and let her eye close again, trying to burrow deeper into blanket. " _Aiya!_ Come on, I have a present I want to give you!" she felt some one very gently brush her hair out of her eye's, cracking them open to find Marcus in front of her, shirtless and in shorts, which was how he normally slept. He was smiling at her, his tail excitedly wagging behind him, unable to contain it.

"Yeah yeah, give me a minute." With that, she pulled the blanket over her head, closed her eye's and almost fell back to sleep. Then what he said finally clicked in her brain and she shot up right, now totally excited. Of course, that made Marcus burst out laughing, Aiya unable to stop the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Aiya, you are priceless in the mornings! One minute, you are fighting staying asleep, the next, you are catapulting off to wherever your going for the day!"

"Marcus!" her ears pressed down on top of her head.

"Don't worry about it Aiya! Really, its adorable!" he gently patted her arm as he spoke, his head already toward the kitchen as he stood. Otherwise, he would have noticed her blushing furiously, the fur on her cheeks practically standing on end. _He thinks I'm adorable! That's… I….._ she tried to take a deep breath, running her hands down her muzzle several times, just trying to smooth her fur down. _okay, calm down, he didn't mean it that way… he just… were good friends._ She might be young, but she was not naïve to the ways of the world, or at least not fully. Heck, she could admit that there was already someone she had a crush on.

She quickly got up and stretched, wrapping the blanket around herself once more. Marcus was in the kitchen, starting up the coffee maker. The aroma from it was already starting to waft around the room, Aiya padding her way over to him as he seemed to already be preparing something. Before she could say anything, he turned around, smiling with a pair of mugs in his hands. "Here, it's really hot still so I don't know, drink sparingly? I made enough for the others too." she glanced behind him as he spoke, seeing a second coffee pot, but it wasn't full of coffee. She gingerly extracted both of her hands from her bundle of blanket, accepting the steaming mug. One whiff told her it was hot chocolate, making her grin. She instantly sipped some, the hot liquid feeling glorious to her body, and the flavor being deep and rich. She had absolutely no idea how he managed to make such amazing hot chocolate, but he always did.

"Thanks marcus. You always make the best hot chocolate!" she saw him visibly blushing, trying to hide it as he took an abnormally large drink of his own. He was almost instantly swallowing, his entire head shaking slightly as his eyes went wide. As soon as he had swallowed the liquid, he let his tongue slip out of his mouth.

"Ow, Ow, OW! HOT! VERY HOT! OW!" He set the mug on the counter, pawing at his now burnt tongue.

Aiya couldn't help but laugh at his antics, both her hands clutched around the warm mug. "Well dufas, if you followed your own advice, you wouldn't have this problem! Don't worry though, I think its really cute!" Almost immediately upon saying the last part of her statement, she was blushing again. Of course, if she hadn't turned around, she would have seen Marcus blushing right along side her. instead, she saw her father slowly trying to get off the couch, but her mother seemed latched around his neck.

"Come on Mira! You are stopping me from getting my coffee!" Aiya giggled as her father tried fruitlessly to pry her off of him, her mother grumbling out something totally unintelligible. Her father's shoulders just slumped in defeat, letting his head fall back against the couch. "There are times where I really wish you weren't so damned cuddly! Aw well, it's not like I don't love it." He wrapped his arms around her, gently kissing the top of her head. Most people her age probably would be embarrassed by their parents acting this way, but they were like this all the time, and probably will never stop. Aiya made her way over to the couch, realizing too late that she couldn't sit down, her mother's legs being in the way. Before she could move to go to a different seat, her father reached over, wrapping his arm under her mother's knees and picked her up, setting her back down on his lap, almost like he had just moved a small child. And she still didn't let go. Aiya happily slipped onto the now open couch, still swathed in the blanket. She glanced beside her as sat down, realizing that there were several sets of punctures on the side of her father's neck, unable to stop her eyes from going wide. She may not have known much about _that_ side of life, but she knew why the skin on her own neck was thicker and tougher than it necessarily needed. Humans, on the other hand, had normal skin on their necks. "I really should wake her up… I'm sure people want to open presents… and I want my coffee….." her father was gently stroking her mother's tail as he spoke, the hybrid letting out a soft purr. "And out like a light, still purr's like a cat."

"Mmmm, thaaat'ss caussse that feeelss _amazing_ Will…." Aiya's mother's words were slurred and barely audible, Her father just chuckling at her before kissing her cheek.

"So you are awake? You just don't want me getting my coffee?"

"Noooooo, I'm not awake! And bad cop, no coffee! No doughnut either!"

"Alright, fine, no more tail pets till I get my coffee then!" Mira instantly let go of Will as he said that, Aiya trying to suppress a giggle. As awkward as they could be at times, her parents were hysterical, and she absolutely loved them.

"But that means I have to get up!" Aiya again rolled her eye's at her mother's antics, but no more followed, as a swarm of O'Donnell's and the two remaining McCloud's came made their way into the room. She made room for Nathan beside her, watching as he lustfully eyed her hot chocolate.

"There's more in the kitchen Nate!" he grumbled at Aiya but complied, sliding off the couch. She caught several eye raises and chuckles as the adults all saw her father's neck, who seemed to not care one bit about it.

"Alright Pups off the seats! That includes you Fox!" Wolf's commanding and deep voice echoed even in the small space of the main hall. Aiya just smiled as she slid off the couch, used to the almost tradition of the kids not being on the couch for opening presents.

"Wolf, I am not a Pup, quit calling me that already you dumb oaf!" Wolf just stuck his tongue out at Fox's remark, all of the adults claiming seats as the kids all beelined for the tree, save the four older ones that is.

"Whoa, hey, patience! Nathan, if you would please?!" Sheila shouted that to stop the kids, surprisingly succeeding. Nathan simply nodded in response, Flannery doing her best to control the two year old. All of them were still in pajama's, the only exceptions being Aiya, and her parents. The first gift he selected was one Aiya recognized, because it had her name on it.

"Alright, number one! To Aiya From Marcus!" Nathan lightly tossed the box to Marcus as he spoke, Marcus catching it as he dropped beside Aiya.

"Here. Open it, I know you will love it." he was smiling as he held the present out for her, Aiya wanting to shrivel up as she felt every pair of eye's in the room on her, grabbing the box and quickly ripping the paper off, finding a plain cardboard clothing box. She raised an eyebrow at him as she opened it, seeing teal fabric with in. she pulled it out to find that it was a pull over hooded sweatshirt, with the logo for her favorite band on it. she squealed in delight, unable to stop wagging.

"How did you know I wanted some new hoodies Marcus!?" he just smiled at her, sticking his tongue out.

"Come on Aiya, try it on!" she heard her Father's voice from the couch, still underneath Mira, but at least someone had brought him a mug of coffee. She quickly unwrapped herself from the blanket, the sudden drop in temperature making her shiver slightly. She quickly slipped the hoodie on, instantly putting the hood up. It didn't have slots for her ears, but she didn't mind, feeling almost immediately warmer in the baggy hoodie, unable to not grin. Which had been the absolute wrong moment for her, given Sheila had her phone out, instantly snapping a picture.

"H-Hey! I didn't want my picture taken!" Sheila just laughed, Aiya just trying to shrivel up into the sweatshirt. She was very thankful that she didn't get another gift, just happy watching as everyone else received gifts, from new games and toys to clothing and so forth. Until Nathan finally pulled a tiny box from the tree itself, Aiya instantly blushing. _Oh boy… here we go, I hope he likes this!_ she tucked her knees into her hoodie as she bit her lip, very glad to be able to bury herself deeper in her new hoodie.

"Alright next is…. Marcus, from Aiya! Here!" Nathan tossed the tiny package to Marcus, marcus easily catching it. he raised an eyebrow at her before quickly opening it, pulling out the small bracelet with in. it was a larger strip of deep brown leather, with several strands of icy blue and dark blue beaded leather bands bound around it, two leather strings falling from either end to tie it to his wrist, with plenty of excess for him to grow into. The leather was bound together to form two sets of repeating arrow patterns, pointed toward each other. The last two icy blue arrows touched in center, the empty space being dark blue. The bead's glistened slightly as he played with it for a second, a small smile on his face.

"This is really cool Aiya! Where did you even find it!" Aiya shriveled up into her hoodie even more as he spoke, unable to stop the amount of blood in her cheeks. There was no way she could hide her cheek fur's position with out the hood.

"I-I made it…. Actually…." she barely managed to say that. It had taken her months of practice to even learn how to make the bracelet, and she had twenty different scrapped attempts before she had made that one. Marcus's shoulders slumped as she spoke, Aiya barely noticed that Nathan was already passing out more gifts. "It's…. well, you want to go explore the galaxy right?" he nodded, so she continued. "Well, um, this….. it's to tell you to always remember to come back home, okay!? That I'll make sure there is always a place for you to call home!" If anything, her attempt to explain it seemed to make him to deflate even more, Aiya seeing his eye's starting to well up. "Yo-You don't li-like it?"

Marcus closed his eye's and smiled to her, but he still looked sad. "No, I love it, it's just….. you went out and made me something amazing! And all I did was buy you a stupid sweatshirt…..i just…. I feel bad. I could have done so much better….." she didn't let him continue, launching herself to him and hugging him as tightly as she could, barely noticing the hood of her sweatshirt falling down as she wrapped her head around his shoulder, pressing her chin down on his back.

"No! I love your gift! It was thoughtful, and perfect! It's warm and soft and comfortable, just like you!" she felt a few tears slip out of her own eyes, trying to force her eye's closed and stop them. she felt his arms go around her smaller frame, her muscles relaxing at his incredibly gently touch.

"Okay. And thanks Aiya. No matter how far I go, I'll always remember to come home to you. especially now that I have this." she felt his snout rest on her head for a few seconds, simply happy that her friend liked her gift. No one noticed the small heartfelt exchange between the young kits. Or so they thought, as Krystal's mouth twitched up as she watched the pair from the corner of her eye, her telepathy telling her all about the whole exchange.


End file.
